BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb fought hard in its season finale, but No. 9 Kennesaw State scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to take a 42-14 win in the regular season finale for both teams.
 
The Owls (10-2, 5-1 Big South) will await word of a potential at large berth to the FCS Playoffs. The selection show is Sunday.
 
Gardner-Webb (3-9, 1-5 Big South) tied the game, 7-7, on a 15-yard pass from Kalen Whitlow to Izaiah Gathings, but trailed 14-7 at the break.
 
Kennesaw State scored on a short Tommy Bryant run, his third of the game, and a 15-yard blocked punt return to go up 28-7 with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Bryant scored his fourth touchdown of the game to cap a 46-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter and Bronson Rechsteiner broke free on a 65-yard dive play for a 42-7 edge with 5:50 left.
 
Whitlow found Devron Harper on a 28-yard slant route for a score with 2:33 to provide the final margin.
 
Whitlow finished the day 21-of-36 for 193 yards and two touchdowns, finishing the season with 2,050 yards and 20 touchdowns after transferring to Gardner-Webb from Tennessee State.
 
Gathings was hot again, catching 11 passes for 117 yards and a score. The Statesville, N.C., native set a new league mark with four-straight games with 10+ catches and 100+ yards – and hauled in a touchdown grab in his seventh-straight game.
 
Gathings finished the season with 71 catches for 1,046 yards and 12 scores – becoming the first Gardner-Webb receiver to top 1,000 yards since All-America standout Kenny Cook in 2013.
 
Josh Ramseur played his final game for the Runnin' Bulldogs and closed it in style, posting a career-high 11 total tackles (eight solo) and two tackles for loss. Darien Reynolds added 11 stops and Janathian Turner had a career-high 10 hits for Gardner-Webb.
 
Kennesaw State came alive late to run for 322 yards and finished with 350 yards of total offense. Bryant had 154 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to lead the way.